Newsletter January – December 2012

(Tanzania). Amb. Dr. Sezibera

was accompanied by Hon. Jesca Eriyo, Deputy Secretary

General and Mr. Steve

Machage, Chef de Cabinet.

The Secretary General also

attended the Business Initiative

Directions Award ceremony

to receive the International Star for Leadership in Quality-

Gold Category Award, which was awarded to the EAC Se-

cretariat.

The Mission organized a meet-ing between Amb. Dr.

Sezibera and Mr. Domi-nique Lafont, Chairman

of the East Africa busi-

ness Council and Chairman of Bolloré

Africa Logistics. The Secretary General also

had a chance to meet

with Mrs. Elisabeth Bar-

bier, Director of Africa at the Ministry of For-

eign and European Af-fairs of the Republic of

France to discuss the projects and challenges

that EAC is facing.

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

French Trade

Mission to

Kenya

2

Kenya ob-

serves French

elections

4

Sports 6

EAC day 9

Pictorial 11-

12

EAC SECRETARY GENERAL VISITS FRANCE

J A N U A U R Y - D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 2

E D I T O R I A L

T E A M :

Chair:

H.E. Amb. Salma Ahmed

Members:

Anthony Safari

Nancy Sifa

Mildred Otunga

Mwiyathi Wanjira

Contributors

Linda Tumwa

Joy Eleonore

Nicholas Musilu

Design and layout

Mwiyathi Wanjira

This is a publication of the

Kenyan Embassy in France.

Any reproduction of articles

therein should be acknowledged

Bulletin

regions such as Strasbourg and

Bordeaux and in participating in

the trade mission led by the

French Foreign Trade Minister

to Kenya Mme. Nicole Bricq.

I am also very proud of the per-

formance of Kenyan athletes at

the Paris and La Rochelle mara-

thons where they took the top

positions.

I hope that you will enjoy read-

ing this newsletter and I look

forward to receiving your feed-

back.

~ Asante sana

The EAC Secretary General,

Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera was in Paris from 24th to 28th June,

2012 to attend the final meet-ing of the working group on

Aid Effectiveness which was

held from 28th to 29th June, 2012. On arrival at the

airport, Amb. Sezibera was welcomed by the

EAC Ambassadors and diplomats H.E.

Mrs. Salma Ahmed, (Kenya), H.E. Mr.

J a c q u e s K a b a l e Nyangezi, (Rwanda),

H.E. Mrs. Elizabeth P a u l a N a p e y o k ,

(Uganda) H.E. Mr.

G a s p a r d M u s -a v y a r a b o n a ,

(Burundi) and Mrs. Mary Matari, Minister

C o u n s e l l o r

Kenyan Embassy in France

EAC Secretary General Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera

(centre) is received by EAC Ambassadors and diplomats

at the Charles de Gaulle Airport during an official visit

to France

Ambassador Salma Ahmed

It is my great pleasure to pre-

sent the fourth issue of the

newsletter of the Embassy of

the Republic of Kenya in France.

This year has been particularly

significant for the Mission given

A WORD FROM THE AMBASSADOR

that Kenya was the Chair of the

East Africa Community (EAC).

In France, we worked with the

Ambassadors of the EAC to

promote investment in the re-

gion as well as to celebrate

EAC day on November

30th.EAC ambassadors based in

Paris led by Kenya also had the

honour of receiving the EAC

Secretary General in Paris.

The Kenyan Embassy has also

paid particular attention to eco-

nomic diplomacy during our

meetings in Paris, visits to the

P A G E 2

FRENCH TRADE MINISTER LEADS TRADE MISSION TO

KENYA great importance to

Kenya as a gateway to

the East African re-

gion especially since

France and Kenya

share certain objec-

tives and strong sup-

port for initiatives

together, notably the

Paris Nairobi Climate

initiative – Clean en-

ergy for all in Africa

and countries most

vulnerable to climate

change.

During her stay in Kenya,

the Mrs. Bricq held meet-

ings with the Prime Minis-

ter, as well as the Ministers

for Trade, Energy and the

Assistant Minister for Fi-

nance.

In her discussions with the

Kenyan Minister for Trade

Hon. Moses Wetangula,

Mrs. Bricq stated that her

country places a lot of im-

portance in its relations

with Kenya. She added that

although trade between

the two countries had im-

proved, the volume was

still low and there was still

room for improvement.

The French Minister

praised the business cli-

mate in the country espe-

cially its legal framework.

In his reply the Hon.

Wetangula thanked his

French counterpart for

choosing Kenya as her first

stop in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He added that the Kenyan

government

and particu-

larly his minis-

try continue

to endeavour

to ensure that

good business

climate was

e s t a b l i s h e d

for invest-

ment in the

country. He

welcomed the

French Minis-

ter’s com-

ments that

trade between the two

countries should be diver-

sified and increased in vol-

ume. However, he urged

French companies to im-

port more from Kenya to

reduce the balance of

trade which was in favour

of former.

Mrs. Bricq also visited two

French companies in

Kenya, that is Nos Servar

and Powertechnics. She

then visited the Internal

Elections and Bounda-

r ies Commiss ion

where she saw the

French Biometric

Voter Registration

Kits that had been

bought from France.

The French minister

also oversaw the sign-

ing of agreements with

the Kenya Wildlife

Service, Kenya Private

Sector Alliance and

the East African Busi-

ness Council.

K E N Y A N E M B A S S Y I N F R A N C E

The Kenyan delegation led by Hon. Moses

Wetangula met with Mrs. Nicole Bricq to dis-

cuss trade between the two countries

Kenyan Ambassador to

Paris H.E. Amb. Salma Ah-

med held a meeting with

the Minister for Foreign

Trade, Mrs. Nicole Bricq,

on 10th October, 2012, at

the Ministry of Economy

offices in Bercy ahead of

the Minister’s visit to

Kenya.

Also present at the meet-

ing was Mr. Jonathan

GINDT, Technical Adviser

in charge of Bilateral Rela-

tions and Mr. Frédéric

Choblet, Head, Sub-

Saharan Africa and French

Development Agency.

The two discussed among

other issues the visit by

the Foreign Trade Minister

to Kenya from 11th to

14th November 2012. The

Minister would be accom-

panied by business delega-

tions from major French

companies and SMEs.

Mrs. Nicole Bricq under-

lined that France places

Kenyan Ambassador to France

Salma Ahmed presents gifts to

the French Minister for For-

eign Trade Mrs. Nicole Bricq

Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga met with French For-

eign Trade Minister Mrs. Nicole Bricq. Also present were the

Ambassadors from both countries

P A G E 3

EAC AMBASSADORS VISIT TOTAL FRANCE

EAC AMBASSADORS PROMOTE INVESTMENT

H.E. Amb. Salma Ahmed,

the Chairperson of the

East African Community

(EAC) Ambassadors in

France for 2012 led the

EAC Ambassadors and

diplomats in France, H.E.

Amb. Gaspard Mus-

avyarabona (Burundi),

H.E. Amb. Jacques Ka-

bale Nyangezi (Rwanda),

H.E. Mrs. Begum K. Taj

(United Republic of Tan-

zania) and Mr. Philip

Odida, Minister Counsel-

lor (Uganda) to a meet-

ing with French company

representatives to pro-

mote investment in the

EAC.

The French team was led

by Mr. Dominique La-

font, the Chairman of the

Council of Business Man-

agers in France-in

Charge of East Africa and

Chairman of Bolloré Af-

rica Logistics. Also pre-

sent was Mrs. Elisabeth

Barbier, Director of Af-

rica at the French Minis-

try of Foreign Affairs .

Mr. Lafont noted that

this was an important

forum and that the EAC

presents a good chance

to invest due to the vast

opportunities available.

He added that the EAC

Ambassadors have a role

to help French business-

men to invest in the re-

gion by identifying the

opportunities.

Amb. Ahmed, urged the

companies present to

consider undertaking a

business trip to the re-

gion. The necessary ar-

rangements for meetings

will be organized either

through the individual

countries or through the

EAC secretariat.

Mr. Lafont assured the

EAC Ambassadors that

H.E. Mrs. Salma Ahmed

during the meeting with

Total senior officials


The East

A f r i c a n group of Ambassa-dors and

diplomats led by t h e i r chairper-

son Amb. Salma Ah-

med visited the Total

headquarters at La De-

fense, Paris on 12th Oc-

tober, 2012.

The purpose of the visit was to get a briefing

from the officials on the

activities of the Total Group in the East Afri-can region in the wake of the discovery of huge

deposits of petroleum and natural gas in the

region.

The delegation was taken through a Power-Point presentation re-

garding recent discover-ies of natural gas depos-its in Mozambique, Tan-zania and Kenya which

makes the East Africa region one of the

world’s most active oil

and gas exploration ar-

eas.

The delegation was also

informed that the East Africa region ranks among the third largest in hydrocarbons reserve

in Africa after North and

West Africa regions.

The delegation was in-

formed that in Kenya, only 34 wells have been drilled to date, with one

onshore oil discovery by Tullow and one offshore

gas find by Apache.

H.E. Amb. Jacques Kabale Nyangezi (Rwanda) and

H.E. Amb. Salma Ahmed (Kenya) addressing inves-

tors at the EAC-MEDEF meeting

the business trips will be

made and in order to

proceed, MEDEF would

form working groups, so

as to work out the mo-

dalities.

P A G E 4

Hon. Eugene Wamalwa, Minis-

ter of Justice, National Cohe-

sion and Constitutional Affairs,

led a Kenyan delegation to

France from 3rd to 8th May

2012, to observe the second

round of French presidential

election. The delegation in-

cluded Mr. Isaack Hassan

(IEBC), Mzalendo Kibunjia

(National Cohesion and Inte-

gration Commission), Jakoyo

Midiwo, (ODM Chief Whip),

Kennedy Masime (chairman of

the Local Elections Observer

group and Justin Muturi,

(Centre for Multi-Party Democ-

racy), Roseline Adele and Paul

Ilado. The team was sponsored

by the French Government as a

benchmarking exercise since in

accordance with the new con-

stitution, the Kenyan presiden-

tial elections will have a runoff,

in case none of the candidates

garner more that 50% of the

votes.

During their

visit, the team

met with rep-

resentatives of

the Ministry of

Interior (in

charge of hold-

ing elections in

France), the

Polling Com-

mission, the

Political and

Campaign Fi-

nancing Com-

mission, the

Constitutional

Council and

the Audiovisual

S u p e r i o r

Council.

The team

also had an

opportunity

to visit a

polling sta-

t ion in

France to

understand

how the

voting is

done. They

later met

the former

F r e n c h

Prime Min-

ister Mr.

L i o n e l

Jospin and the Director of

Africa within the French Minis-

try of Foreign Affairs, Mrs.

Elisabeth Barbier.

The Embassy also organised for

the Diaspora to meet with the

team to be apprised on matters

regarding the Diaspora voting.

The Kenyans were informed

that they will be allowed to

vote for the President and that

the IEBC was working with the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs on

modalities of setting up polling

stations in Kenyan Embassies

and High Commissions abroad.

The Kenyans were urged to

register with the Embassy so as

not to be left out in this his-

toric event.


Hon. Eugene Wamalwa (centre) cuts a unity cake at the Am-

bassador’s residence. Looking on are the Kenyan Ambassador

to France H.E. Amb. Salma Ahmed and Kenyans living in

KENYA OBSERVES FRENCH PRESIDENTIAL

ELECTIONS

The Kenyan delegation met with officials of the French

Ministry of Interior to discuss the electoral process in

France

P A G E 5

PROMOTING KENYA AT THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF PARIS

PERMANENT SECRETARY OF FINANCE MR. JOSEPH

KINYUA VISITS FRANCE The Permanent Secretary in

the Ministry of Finance Mr.

Joseph Kinyua and the Gov-

ernor of the Central Bank

of Kenya Prof. Njuguna

Ndung’u made an official

visit to France between 15th

and 19th October, 2012.

The two were accompanied

by senior officials from the

Financial Reporting Centre

in Nairobi led by their

Chairman Mr. John K. Wan-

yela.

The purpose of the high

level delegation’s visit to

France was to attend the

24thPlenary Meeting of the

Financial Action Task Force

(FATF), which is a global

body established in 1989 to

set international standards

on anti-money laundering

and combating the financing

of terrorism (AML/CFT).

FATF is supposed to over-

see the promotion and im-

plementation of those stan-

dards globally.

During the Review Meeting,

the Kenyan delegation made

a comprehensive presenta-

tion on actions which the

Government has imple-

mented to comply with the

FATF requirements to im-

prove the country’s AML/

CFT regime.

At the end of the meeting,

the FATF issued a public

statement on high risk and

non-cooperative jurisdic-

tions. Regarding Kenya, the

FATF positively noted that

the country had taken sig-

nificant steps towards im-

proving its AML/CFT regime

including the enactment of

the Prevention of Terrorism

Act, 2012; the Capital Mar-

kets (Amendment) Act,

2012; the Proceeds of

Crime and Anti-Money

Laundering (Amendment)

Act, 2012 and the Finance

Bill, 2012; and the establish-

ment of the Financial Re-

porting Centre.

It is important to note that

during a previous meeting of

the FATF in June 2012 ,

Kenya had been singled out

as one of the countries lack-

ing on law against financing

of terrorism. This was ob-

served as one of the perti-

nent issues that could have

led to Kenya being black-

listed and counter measures

taken against the country.

The next Review Meeting of

the FATF is scheduled to

take place in Paris in Febru-

ary, 2013.

pants; students, teachers and par-

ents.

The British School of Paris organ-

ised the All around the world day

on 27th January, 2012, a cul-

tural event in which parents

from 27 different countries

represented in the school were

requested to prepare exhibi-

tions to illustrate the food,

clothes, traditions and land-

scapes of their countries.

The Embassy used the opportu-

nity to showcase Kenya’s rich

heritage, cultural diversity and

attractive sceneries and pro-

mote Kenya as an ideal tourist

destination, to an interna-

tional community. The event

attracted about 700 partici-

Kenya was represented by Mrs.

Nancy Sifa, Third secretary, Mrs.

Njoki Muasya, Financial At-

tache, Mrs. Sheila Mwanjele,

spouse to the First Secretary,

who are parents at the school

and Ms. Regina Furaha a volun-

teer.

During the event, the Kenyan

Embassy had a stand to display

promotional materials and

show a documentary on

Kenya. Parents, teachers and

students were also given a

taste of Kenyan nibbles; there

were mandazis and samosas

served at the stand.

Ms. Nancy Sifa and Ms. Regina Furaha at the Kenya Stand:

promotional material was given to students, teachers and parents

who visited the stand

Kenyan Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Salma Ahmed receives the Permanent

Secretary of the Ministry of Finance Mr. Joseph Kinyua during his offi-

cial visit to Paris in October 2012

P A G E 6


The 36th edition of the Paris ma-

rathon took place on April 15th

2012 with the participation of

over 40,000 runners. Kenya came

out at the top once again with

record breaking performance of

Stanely Bi-

wott who

ran a time of

2h05min1-

2sec.

Despite the

chilly wea-

ther and

wind, Biwott

who won

the Paris half

marathon in

March 2012

e x p re s s e d

satisfaction

with the ra-

ce. While

speaking to

the press, he added that he

knew he had a chance at winning

right from the starting line.

Kenya was represented by 19

elite athletes of whom only one

was a woman – Julia Mumbi who

came in at 9th position.

The Kenyan Embassy in Paris also

promoted Kenya as a sports tou-

rism destination during the days

leading to

the mara-

thon. It

partnered

with Kim-

bia Kenya,

the orga-

nizer of

the first

five phase

trail run

to take

place in

Kenya in

February

2013. Left: Ms. Nancy Sifa Second Secretary (Trade) at the Kimbia Kenya stand during which

the Embassy promoted Kenya as a sports tourism destination

Right: Kenyan Ambassador to France H.E. Mrs.. Salma Ahmed congratulates Stanely

Biwott on his win

KENYA WINS AGAIN AT THE PARIS MARATHON

Over 9000 runners came together

at La Rochelle to participate in the

22nd edition of the La Rochelle

marathon which took place on

November 25th 2012. Kenya

emerged the winner once

again with the sterling per-

formance of its male and fe-

male athletes.

The top three male athletes

expressed satisfaction with

their performance despite

the fact that they found the

weather to have been very

humid which made running

difficult.

21-year old Chentan

Bushendich who was par-

ticipating in his second marathon

finished the race first at 2h

09min 12s, two minutes more

than his compatriot John Komen

who broke the record in 2011.

Meanwhile, Kenyan female runner

Joyce Kandie also made Kenya

proud by being the second female

athlete to cross the finish line

at the La Rochelle marathon.

She nevertheless expressed

disappointment with her per-

formance of 02h 38min 57s

due to a pull in the hamstring

at the 27th kilometer mark.

The Kenyan Embassy in Paris

also promoted Kenya as a

sports tourism destination

during the days leading to the

marathon and was well re-

ceived by the French public

in La Rochelle.

Winner of the 22nd edition of the La Rochelle Marathon

Chentan Bushendich.

CLEAN SWEEP BY KENYA IN LA ROCHELLE

P A G E 7


Kenya Tourist Board officials

flew in from Nairobi to participate

in the International French Travel

MarketTop Resa, a tour-

ism event that brings to-

ge the r more t h an

a hundred of tourism

boards, carriers, hotels

and more than 50 tour

operators who come

to present their products

and services to the indus-

try's production and distri-

bution professionals.

Each year, thousands of

travel agents come to

IFTM Top Resa to develop

their expertise and

specialist knowledge.

The KTB officials

collaborated with Interface Tour-

ism (their market development

representative in France) and the

Kenyan Embassy to make their

participation more interactive

and result-oriented.

Kenyans living in Paris were

hired to act as hostesses and

dancers in order to interact with

the public and attract visitors to

the stand.

In addition to this, the

commercial section of the

Kenyan Embassy liaised

with KTB MDR to organ-

ize the visit of H.E. Dr.

Mary M. Khimulu, Ambas-

sador/Permanent Delegate

of Kenya to UNESCO to

the tourism fair. This en-

abled the Ambassador and

Permanent Delegate to

meet with high-level offi-

cials the Kenya Tourist

Board in order to discuss

a strategy that involves

marketing UNESCO

heritage sights in

Kenya to the French

public.

Ms. Nancy Sifa, Second Secretary (Commercial) listens to an expla-

nation on how to use the Kenya safari photo booth

PROMOTING TOURISM IN FRANCE

As part of its humanitarian diplo-

macy, the Kenyan Embassy in Paris

once again partnered with the

French office of the international

NGO AMREF (whose head-

quarters are in Nairobi) in

the organization of its annual

charity gala.

The mission liaised with Red

Lands Roses and Fleurassis-

tance for the provision of

pink Kenyan roses to deco-

rate the tables and mobilized

Kenyans living in Paris to vol-

unteer as hostesses for

event.

Kenya was represented by

several diplomats led by

H.E. Dr. Mary M. Khimulu, the

Ambassador/Permanent delegate

of Kenya to UNESCO and Mr.

Anthony Safari, Second Counsel-

lor and Head of Chancery of the

Kenyan Embassy in Paris.

A total of 230,000€ was collected

during the gala through auctions

and donations. The event’s

organizers expressed great

satisfaction and pride in sur-

passing their initial goal.

They also urged those present

to continue to support the

health of African mothers,

particularly by lobbying for

African midwives represented

by Ugandan midwife Esther

Madudu to receive the Nobel

Peace Prize in 2015. Kenyans living in Paris volunteered as hostesses during

the 2012 AMREF Charity Gala

AMREF RAISES FUNDS FOR AFRICAN MIDWIVES

P A G E 8

FOCUSING ON ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY IN BORDEAUX the establishment of techno-

logical transfer partnership and cooperation with Kenyan SMEs

and local industries.

Ambassador Salma Ahmed met with the Director General of

the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce and Industry,

French investors, business leaders, executives of various

French companies as well as wine production and rabbit

breeding sectors.

During her meeting with the Direc-

tor General of the Bordeaux Cham-ber of Commerce , the Ambassador

focused on trade and investment op-portunities in Kenya. She informed

that the Kenyan Government policy

seeks to encourage foreign investors under the Foreign Investment Protec-

tion Act which provides several in-centives and guarantees protection

The Kenyan Ambassador to France

H.E. Mrs. Salma Ahmed made an offi-cial visit to Bordeaux on 19th to

22nd June 2012.The primary objec-tive of the visit was to further pro-

mote trade and investment opportu-nities that Kenya offers, and also, to

explore the available possibilities for

for foreign investors.

The Ambassador also made a presen-

tation on investment opportunities in Kenya at the Bordeaux Chamber of

Chamber of Commerce and Industry in front of various economic players,

investors as well as members of the Bordeaux-Africa Business Club (a

business club under the auspices the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce

and Industry), which brings together businesspeople that are interested in

developing their activities in Africa.

Ambassador Salma Ahmed also vis-

ited the Saint Émilion vineyard during which she held talks with key actors

in the wine industry. The possibilities for the establishment of partnership

on wine production and distribution

network with Kenya were jointly

explored and agreed upon.

CREATING LINKAGES IN STRASBOURG important for French companies to

explore business opportunities in

East Africa taking into account its

population of 130 million, people,

the mounting economic growth of

more than 5% per annum in various

East African countries .

Mr. HOERLE encouraged the Am-

bassador to organize another visit

to Strasbourg with other East Afri-

can Ambassadors adding that the

Chamber of Commerce in Stras-

bourg would set aside a date where

various companies would be invited

and each East African Ambassador

would showcase their countries.

The Ambassador also visited the

Ecole Nationale D ‘Administration

where she held discussions with

The Kenya Embassy in Paris is very

keen on the role it plays to pro-

mote economic diplomacy, educa-

tion, cooperation and development

opportunities between Kenya and

France. It is on these grounds that

H.E. Ambassador Salma Ahmed

visited the town of Strasbourg

which hosts several European insti-

tutions such as the Council of

Europe, European Court of Human

Rights, the European Parliament.

During her visit, the Ambassador

met with the President of the

Chambers of Commerce and In-

dustry in Strasbourg, Mr. Jean-Louis

Hoerrle, during which they dis-

cussed various issues concerning

investment in Kenya.

The Ambassador stated that it wa

Mrs. Isabelle COMBARNOUS from

the department of International

Relations-Africa/Middle East desk.

The Kenyan Ambassador took time to

visit vineyards in Bordeaux and learn

more about the wine industry

Ambassador Salma Ahmed met with Mrs.

Isabelle Combarnous of the French Na-

tional School of Administration while in

Strasbourg

P A G E 9

EAC EMBASSIES CELEBRATE EAC DAY AT THE KENYA HOUSE

30th November is an im-

portant day in the East

Afr ican Community

(EAC). It is the day when

East Africans all over the

world meet to celebrate

the founding of the com-

munity which brings to-

gether Kenya, Uganda,

Tanzania, Burundi and

Rwanda. In Paris, The

EAC group of Ambassa-

dors organized a recep-

tion on the occasion of

the EAC day.

The well attended recep-

tion was held at the offi-

cial residence of the out-

going chairperson of the

EAC group of Ambassa-

dors in Paris and Kenyan

Ambassador H.E. Mrs.

Salma Ahmed. All the

other EAC Ambassadors

and members of staff of

the EAC embassies

graced the occasion.

The occasion was also

used to bid farewell to

the outgoing Ugandan

Mrs. Elizabeth Paula

Napeyok, who is moving

to India in the same ca-

pacity.

In her welcome address,

Amb. Salma Ahmed

noted with satisfaction

that the EAC political

leadership has worked

hard to unify the people

of the EAC. She said that

important milestones had

been achieved within the

EAC such as a unified

EAC passport, continu-

ous rehabilitation of infra-

structure and the opera-

tionalization of the Com-

mon Market and Cus-

toms Union protocols

among other key devel-

opment targets.

She added that the EAC

region had vast natural

resources which could be

harnessed and nurtured

for the benefit of its peo-

ple.

The EAC bloc has a com-

bined population of about

133 million people.

The Kenyan Ambassador

asked the invited guests

to join her in a toast to

wish the political leader-

ship of the EAC good

health, long life and pros-

perity.

1. EAC Ambassadors during a toast to wish the political leadership of the EAC good health, long life and

prosperity

2. Mr. Anthony Safari and Mrs. Mildred Otunga of the Kenyan Embassy sing the EAC anthem

3. EAC Ambassadors cut a cake to commemorate EAC Day

4. EAC Ambassadors and members of staff during the EAC celebrations

1

3

2

4

tors promoting Kenya in France

with the main focus being on the

consumer via massive advertising.

The KTB MDR has nevertheless

gone further by incorporating

training programmes as a way of

promoting the destination through

travel agents.

The Minister urged the tour op-

erators to revamp tourism in

Kenya by marketing the new

products to interest tourists.

He advised the tour operators

to stop marketing Tsavo Na-

tional Park and Masaai Mara

and the other traditional parks

and start selling the new parks

such Meru National Park. He

added that marketing of this

park would open up Isiolo and

other surrounding towns,

Ruma National Park, which is

in Western Kenya and has the

highest number of Rhinos.

The Minister for Tourism, Hon.

Danson Mwazo, was in Paris from

15th to 16th May, 2012 accompa-

nied by the Tourism Secretary, Dr.

Nelson Githinji. The minister was

in France mainly to

discuss with the Mar-

keting Development

Representative (MDR)

on the strategies used

to market Kenya in

France.

The MDR also took

the opportunity to

schedule various intro-

ductory meetings with

some of the main play-

ers in the tourism in-

dustry in France.

There are about one

hundred tour opera-

KENYA’S TOURISM MINISTER VISITS FRANCE

L-R: Mr. Gael de la Porte du Theil, Interface Tourism President

(KTB MDR), Mr. Muriithi Ndegwa, Managing Director KTB,

Mr. Jürgen Bachmann, Secretary General CETO, Hon. Danson

Mwazo, Minister for Tourism and Dr. Nelson Githinji, Tourism

Secretary.

3 rue Freycinet

75116 Paris

France

Tel : +33 (0)1 56 62 25 25

Fax: +33 (0)1 47 20 44 41

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: www.kenyaembassyparis.org

OUR MISSION

To advance the interests of Kenya through innovative diplo-

macy.

OUR VISION

To be an institution of excellence that provides high quality

diplomatic services and makes tangible contributions to Ke-

nya’snational development agenda.

Our core functions include:

Promoting Kenya’s Foreign Policy

Representing Kenya in our countries of accreditation

Promoting and protecting Kenya’s National Interests

Strengthening, initiating and facilitating bilateral coopera-

tion and partnership between Kenya and our accredited

region in the areas of economics, politics, education,

development and defence

Promoting Kenya as a trade, investment and tourism

destination

Promoting and facilitating science, technology and knowl-

edge transfer from our accredited region to Kenya

Strategic engagement of the Kenyan Diaspora

Provision of consular services

Ambassade du Kenya en France

Comments on any issues should be

directed to the Ambassador

P A G E 1 1

PICTORIAL

Ms. Mwiyathi Wanjira, Commercial Assistant at the

Kenyan Embassy presents Kenyan delicacies during

the Planete du Gout a food cultural event held at the

American Embassy in Paris

Winner of the 2012 of the La Rochelle Marathon

Chentan Bushendich shortly after crossing the finish

line

Grace Sicard, Consular Assistant at the Kenyan Em-

bassy and John Kimani a Kenyan living in France

dressed in Maasai traditional gear promote Kenya dur-

ing a cultural workshop organised by KTB

Kenyans living in Paris cheer Kenyan athletes at the

finish line of the 2012 Paris marathon

Mr. Joseph Kinyua, Permanent Secretary of the Minis-

try of Finance signs the visitors book at the Kenyan

Embassy in Paris during his official visit to France

Kenyan Ambassador H.E. Mrs. Salma Ahmed receives

the Governor of Central Bank Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u

P A G E 1 2

PICTORIAL

French Ambassador to Kenya H.E. Mr. Etienne de

Poncins with the Kenyan Ambassador to France H.E.

Mrs. Salma Ahmed during the French Trade Mission to

Kenya

Ms. Nancy Sifa the outgoing Second Secretary (Trade)

is presented with a gift by her colleagues during a fare-

well dinner in her honour

Jecinta Onyango, Finance Assistant at the Kenyan

Embassy in Paris with the outgoing Ugandan Am-

bassador H.E. Mrs. Elizabeth Napeyok during the

EAC day at the Kenyan Ambassador’s residence

KEPSA CEO Ms. Carole Kariuki with Ambassador

Salma Ahmed and Mr. Eddy Njoroge Chairman of

Telkom Kenya’s Board of Directors during the signing

of an agreement between Kenya Private Sector Alliance

(KEPSA) and its French counterpart MEDEF in Nai-

robi

Pupils of the British School of Paris learn about Ken-

yan culture during the “Around the World Day” held

in their school

Ambassador/Permanent Delegate to Unesco H.E. Dr.

Mary M. Khimulu (PhD) welcomes travels agents to a

cultural workshop organised by the Kenya Tourist

Board in collaboration with the Kenyan Embassy

Newsletter January – December 2012

Documents